The strike triggered a chain of events that destroyed 900 meters of cable. OC Transpo’s director of engineering says the city and Rideau Transit Group’s (RTG) investigation into the extensive damage and disruption to the LRT must be completed before any design changes are made. “It’s extremely unusual for lightning to cause such damage to one [overhead catenary] system,” Richard Holder told CBC News. “At this point, we believe it would be premature to make changes to the plan. The plan has been reviewed and found to be adequate.” The video, obtained by CBC News through the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, shows a shower of sparks near the platform at Lees station shortly after 11:08 p.m. on Sunday, July 24. Video from a west-facing camera on the east-bound platform shows the catenary cable falling onto the track and an additional burst of sparks on the tracks seconds later.
“There is no danger”
Holder said the video shows the surge of electricity after the lightning and “messenger” and “contact” wires falling to the track. Holder said that although the wires were sparked by the surge, there would have been no danger if the incident had happened at a busier time. A worker in a bucket truck on top of a train in Ottawa in September 2021. Overhead catenary cables can be seen in this photo. (Christian Milette/Radio-Canada) “In an instant, the power would have gone out,” Holder said. “Although they separated mechanically, they fell perpendicular to the track. So there was no danger to passengers or passengers waiting on the platform.” He said it’s not clear from the video what causes arcing or sparks on the tracks. Holder said the city has ruled out the possibility that a train somehow pulled the wires because it lost power. However, it has not confirmed whether the station, the cables or the masts that support them were hit directly. “We are not sure of the mechanism at this point as to how the lightning generated such intense heat within the overhead cylinder network,” he said. Holder said the lightning rod system worked to contain the surge and protect traction power substations and other infrastructure next to the tracks. The city will review the existing ground rods in the design and whether additional surge protection will need to be added, Holder said. At a media availability on 26 July, RTG said the arc damaged some track and an LRT vehicle required maintenance at Belfast Yard following the incident. In a statement, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said it assessed the lightning incident and determined that “further investigation would have little chance of identifying new safety lessons.”
